An 8,000-square-foot community garden that once served as a science lab for students at Park Crest Elementary School and a resource for neighborhood residents who picked fresh vegetables there is now enclosed by a chain-link fence.
After the Environmental Protection Agency found high levels of arsenic and lead in soil near the Garland school, district officials hired a company to put up fencing, beginning on July 23, to wall off contaminated areas, including the garden.
The district issued a statement the evening of July 18 acknowledging the EPA’s finding of lead contamination in nearby Stream 2C4, which is behind the Park Crest campus. The stream is a tributary of Garland’s Duck Creek, according to the EPA.
But as the school year gets ready to start on Aug. 2, residents want more answers about next steps and why the district didn’t notify them months ago.
Garland ISD Chief Financial Officer Brent Ringo said the district was first notified in January 2020 that government agencies would be conducting environmental tests in the area. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the EPA were looking into the Globe Union site at 1111 S. Shiloh Road, about a mile from Park Crest, based on a 2019 preliminary assessment.
A June 2020 letter from the TCEQ stated that three soil samples collected along Stream 2C4 showed “no chemicals of concern” detected above state cleanup standards. TCEQ spokesman Gary Rasp said via email that the agency didn’t find high levels of arsenic or...
Read Full Story: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/environment/2021/07/30/garland-isd-fenced-off-contaminated-areas-of-park-crest-elementary-residents-want-more-answers/
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